Fasting: Day 4, 5 &6
CHECK IN ( write in your journal):
In New York Citian: Yo you good?
Memorizing verses at an old age is a bit hard. You got this! Which verses have made an impact on you so far?
How are you reacting to making more room for God’s presence?
What are your rhythms during your fast? Are you fasting breakfast and lunch? Are you praying and reflecting during those times? What does the end of your fasting look like at the end of the day?
Physically, how is your body reacting?
OUR GOAL FOR THE NEXT 3 DAYS
Learning the physical needs you have when you fast: schedule, meals, hydration, places of meditation, journal, pen, hand cramps when you write alot etc…
Learning how to equip ourselves with the word again. Read your memory verses throughout the day.
Practice and Reflection: Obeying and Praying
Operating in God’s will, submitting to his shepherding.
Understanding Point A and Point B
point a to point b
Read JOHN 4: 1-42
Part 1: Rapha
The Samaritan woman at the well is an impactful story for all believers who read it. At that time, Samaritans and Jews were extremely prejudiced against one another. Jesus’s interaction with her marks the heart of God to see all nations return to their rightful King, El Shaddai. Ephesians speaks of the Lord gathering people who were once far off and bringing them back to Himself again. Father Abraham was prophesied to be a blessing to all nations, not just the Hebrews.
The woman meets Jesus at the well during the hottest and most difficult time of day. She was likely trying to hide from the other women by avoiding the well during the cool of the early morning. It is fair to say that she was shameful about her past love life and her experiences with husbands (plural).
Jesus begins to reveal Himself to her. He reveals His truth and His power. The woman moves from a casual conversation, to an exploratory conversation with God, and finally to a convicting and revelatory encounter with the Lord. With this newfound faith in God, she burns with passion to tell her community about the Messiah she met at the well.
The woman was not only far off from Jesus by genetics, but also far off because of her sin. This did not scare Jesus away from loving her. In God’s amazing love and wisdom, He addresses the elephant in the room and exposes the fact that she has been living in sin with a man who is not her husband.
Is Jesus being a bully? Is Jesus being rude or cynical? No. Shame has an insidious way of devouring a person when it is not brought into the light. Like mold, it grows in darkness and consumes everything it can cling to. Her sin and shame paralyzed her from living the abundant life God was calling her to. By naming the pain points in her life, Jesus was able to diagnose the effects of transgression and begin her road to salvation. Jesus is not just a good doctor because He can heal bodies, but He is the Good Doctor because He can diagnose the brokenness of the soul. His treatment plan is paid for by His own blood, which He shed on the cross. Come, Jehovah Rapha!
Part 2: Conviction
As we dwell on this passage, it is fair to ask whether the woman ever married the man she was with or whether she continued in a tumultuous love life. What was her life like after meeting Jesus? We won’t know until we see her one day. However, there is another revelation that Jesus shares with the woman at the well.
John 4:13–15
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
When Jesus called out her sin in order to bring her to repentance, He was calling her to surrender herself to Him. He was calling her to empty herself so that she could be filled with something everlasting. As we surrender sin, it will be painful. As we surrender sin, God will call us to die to ourselves. However, the call to empty ourselves for Him is also a promise to be filled with His everlasting water—water that satisfies us in a way nothing in this world ever could. Water that changes our appetite so that we hate the evil things of this world. Water that reverses the deadly sting of sin over our bodies. Water that brings life out of eternal death.
Let go of your sin. Repent. Empty it all out before Him. And be filled again with His water. It’s time to drink.
Part 3: Response
As God calls us to repentance, He makes a way for us to be restored. Wholeness is a popular word today, as modern thinkers try to define it—especially in the world of mental health. However, the Bible is clear about what wholeness is. Wholeness is to be loved by God and to love God. It is to be reconciled to Him and to hold the hand of your Creator all the days of your life. It is to allow His Word to repurpose and reorient the effects of a sinful world. To do this, God promises that His Spirit will empower us and that His blood will cover our shame and debt. Your journey of repentance is not your story; it is God’s story of how He molds the apple of His eye—you.
There is another aspect of wholeness and healing present in this story and throughout the Bible. When God heals, He also empowers and commissions people for His mission of preparing the way for His kingdom. The Samaritan woman went from hiding in shame to running into town and proclaiming that the Savior had arrived.
After the woman left, the disciples were concerned for Jesus’s health and urged Him to eat. Jesus checked their hearts and asked them, “Why didn’t you ask Me why I was talking with her?” He was pointing out their insensitivity to their mission and calling from God, as they were only thinking about falafel. Jesus responds to the disciples, saying:
John 4:34–35
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.”
Restoration also means restoring people to the mission of God. As God heals you, He will also call you to usher others into His kingdom. God will call you to serve Him by serving His church and others. Be sensitive to that call during your quiet time with God.
Reflections to write in your journal:
In your testimony, what sins, shame, chains, traps has God saved you from? Celebrate that!
From Point A to B, what was that journey like?
What did you learn about yourself and God?
What do you do differently now?
Have you shared this story with someone?
How is the good shepherd leading you right now? What is your point A and what is your point B?
When the good shepherd takes us on the field (life), it reveals to us our strengths but also our shortcomings. The shortcomings may cause frictions for a little while, but Godly grief leads to repentance.
What happened to you this year that sparked a reactivity that was negative/sinful?
How do you think you ended up reacting this way?
How do you see God leading you? How do you see his caring hand taking care of you?
Here are some important verses to memorize and dwell on as we park here for the next 3 days:
Psalm 23
Romans 5:8
Hebrews 12:6
2 Thessalonians 1:11
What worship songs are you listening to right now?
